“Country Done Come To Town”

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“Country Done Come To Town”

With the leadoff single to his first solo project, John Rich has captured the tenor of a troubled age. “Shuttin’ Detroit Down,” a populist anthem that gives voice to millions of hard-working Americans who have watched an economic elite benefit while the nation’s economy collapses, has quickly swept the nation. Its premiere airing on Detroit country radio stations galvanized the working class in the beleaguered blue-collar city, and the universality of its sentiment lit up phone lines across the country and made it the fastest-rising single of Rich’s storied career.

The song is a fitting kickoff to Son of a Preacher Man, an album that finds country music’s Renaissance Everyman giving full rein to his own creative voice in a project as personal as it is musically arresting. With its release, one of modern music’s most prolific and creative spirits opens yet another chapter, stepping into the front ranks of solo performers amid a career in musical partnerships and as someone whose songwriting and producing skills have helped shape the talents of others.

“Shuttin’ Detroit Down” is as powerful an entree into a solo career as an artist could hope for.

“It’s a humbling experience,” he says. “This song is bigger than me. It’s bigger than my career. It’s one of those divine experiences you have once in your lifetime, if you’re lucky, as a songwriter.”

And it came to him, as so often happens with art of this import, quickly and unexpectedly. He had been watching news reports involving yet another company whose top brass were buying frills after bailouts from U.S. taxpayers.

“I felt so disrespected as an American taxpayer,” he says. “I felt like these guys were laughing at me and laughing at the American people in general, like they’re getting away with something, and guess what–they are. I figured I had a choice. I could sit at home and be mad, or I could do what a country songwriter does–pick up a blank sheet of paper, a pencil and a guitar, and write a song about it. And that’s what I did.”

He played the song live at stations he was visiting as part of a radio tour, and the reaction was so strong he rerouted the tour into Nashville on a Friday night, recorded the song on Saturday, and hit the road again with the CD. Two weeks after he wrote it, it was part of the Son of a Preacher Man album, which to that point had been considered finished.

For those familiar with Rich’s wide-ranging creativity, the lessons of “Shuttin’ Detroit Down”—Rich’s finger on the pulse of America, his unbridled creativity and penchant for connecting with his audiences–are nothing new. Few people in Nashville history have had the wide-ranging success that Rich, an entertainer who can truly do it all, has had. He is a three-time ASCAP Songwriter of the Year with 13 top ten hits, including Faith Hill’s “Mississippi Girl,” Faith and Tim McGraw’s “Like We Never Loved At All,” Jason Aldean’s “Hicktown” and Taylor Swift’s “The Way I Loved You”; a sought-after producer who has worked with legends like Randy Owen and John Anderson, pop stars like Jewel and a host of new artists; a TV star, host and ringmaster who has shepherded CMT’s Gone Country from interesting idea to well-established franchise; a proven talent scout who helped Gretchen Wilson move from singing bartender to cultural phenomenon; and an accomplished performer who was an integral part of the early Lonestar sound, then half of Big & Rich, whose bigger-than-life personas spearheaded the Muzik Mafia and launched a bona fide country movement. He is also that rarest of commodities–a true character, a walking brand with one of country music’s most identifiable faces and voices.

Son of a Preacher Man grew out of a combination of factors that has so often worked magic for him–a creative window and sheer talent. A prolific songwriter–he has written more than 1300–John had a number of songs that were outside the scope of Big & Rich.

“Songs need to fit a certain slot for us,” he says, “and I’d written a lot that would never wind up on a Big & Rich record.” Then, in late 2007, Big Kenny announced that he wanted to take time off of the road as he dealt with rehabilitation for a pre-existing neck injury and, John says, “I looked at that as a window to go record.”

During the holidays in 2007 he laid down the first half of the album, then wrote and finished it during the coming year.

“I wasn’t honestly thinking the record label was going to put it out or follow up on it,” he says. “I just wanted to go record them.”

Still, he knew they needed to be heard.

“I think I’ve got some of the best lyrics I’ve ever written,” he says, “and they’re definitely the most personal. At this point in my life I think this is an important record for me to make. It’s really the way I think and really what I feel about certain issues.”

The record is a wide-ranging work, with songs ranging from the upbeat, riff-laden “Trucker Man” to “The Good Lord & The Man” and “Preacher Man,” poignant and personal looks at his grandfather and father, respectively; from the aching “Another You” and “I Don’t Want To Lose Your Love” to “Everybody Wants To Be Me,” a honky-tonk rocker fans will recognize as vintage Rich. Capping it all off is “Drive Myself To Drink,” a big band extravaganza that rates as pure musical adventure and which was recorded live.

Overall, the CD is a window into the creative approach of a unique musical stylist, a country music original whose high-profile celebrity status belies his humble origins and reflects his desire to pack everything into the life he lives and the art he creates.

“I’m trying to give people everything I can,” he says. “I’m a guy who grew up in West Texas in a trailer, and I remember going to the food bank, and fifteen dollars for a CD is a lot of money when you don’t have money. You’ve really got to appreciate people who will go out and buy one, and the level of respect that shows for me as an artist.”

That upbringing shaped his appreciation for country fans by molding him into a fan of the genre. Listening to KMML-FM in Amarillo, Texas, he dreamed as a youngster of being on country radio and playing the Grand Ole Opry. He followed the dream to Nashville, where he got a job at a show at the Opryland theme park. There he met part of the core of the band Lonestar, which he helped launch, writing some of their early hits. After parting ways from the group, he had a short-lived solo deal, then teamed up with friends for a Tuesday night jam that spawned the Muzik Mafia, the most eclectic collection of entertainers and artists ever to hit the city. Big & Rich, Gretchen Wilson, Cowboy Troy, James Otto, Two-Foot Fred and painter Rachel Kice were among those who emerged from that incredible scene, and their influence is still being felt across the musical and artistic landscape.

One of the industry’s hardest workers, John carved niches for himself in a variety of creative endeavors. He co-produced Big & Rich’s Horse Of A Different Color, Wilson’s first two albums, Cowboy Troy and James Otto, whose song, “Just Got Started Lovin’ You” was nominated for a Grammy. His songwriting output includes Wilson’s “Redneck Woman,” “Here For The Party” and “When I Think About Cheating,” and songs recorded by Martina McBride, Clay Walker and Aaron Tippin, among many others. At bottom was a pure love for the art.

“The only thing I ever cared to do with my life, from the time I was 5 or 6 years old, is make country music,” he says. “That’s why I write as much as I do. It’s why I’m constantly looking for new artists to work with. I’m constantly producing new records. I’m always on tour. It’s all I care to do. Country music is not a hobby for me. It’s my DNA.”

One of the biggest thrills is bringing new talent to the table.

“I get a huge buzz out of knowing that I get to be a part of somebody else’s career, to help get it up off the ground,” he says. “I guess I got hooked on that when the whole Gretchen Wilson thing happened. To watch her go from a bartender to this iconic status, you know, in country music. That’s one thing I’ll do beyond being an artist is going to be to discover new talent and help develop it.”

The offshoot for him, though, both inside and outside the industry, is a kind of celebrity few ever attain.

“I’m a fan of the era when country music singers had their own TV shows,” he says. “Johnny Cash had a show. Glen Campbell had a show. The Statler Brothers, Barbara Mandrell, Dolly Parton, Porter Wagoner, on and on and on. I think that was a great time in country music. I would hope to be considered one of those artists who has enough identifiable character about me that you could have your own TV show. I’ll never be the greatest singer or the greatest at anything, but there ain’t no doubt I’m a character, and unapologetically so sometimes.”

That is perhaps nowhere better displayed than in CMT’s “Gone Country,” which, he says, “sounded like a fun thing to do” and became the highest-rated show in the history of the network.

“Now,” he says, referring to the third season, “I find myself running around downtown Nashville with George Clinton, the godfather of funk, and introducing country music to people that are icons in their world, and who respect Nashville and country music so much they’re willing to come here on a completely remedial basic level and just go, ‘Tell me everything. Show me everything. I just want to absorb Nashville and country music.’ I’m the perfect guy to be that teacher–if you will, a honky-tonk teacher. Lord knows I’ve had them teach me a lot down there, so I’m just passing along the information.”

Woven through all of it is a personality focused like a diamond on furthering country music, bringing fans and artists together like few have ever done and attracting newcomers to the genre.

“One reason for my success is people know what they’re getting when they get me,” he says. “I’ve never B.S.’d anybody about anything when it comes to music or how I approach the fans or what’s important to me. They know. That’s why people let me have my own TV shows and it’s why hopefully I’ll be able to have a solo career. I’ll be able to make records with my friend Big Kenny and go tour with him like we’re doing this summer, and when I have songs that don’t fit those records, hopefully I’ll be able to have success on my own, as well as continue to produce records on all kinds of people and write songs and be an impact in Nashville.”

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“That’s Me”

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“Rollin’ On

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“Too Late For Goodbye”

A classic return to form and a brave new direction, Burning the Day refuses to be put on pause, stays in your car for weeks on end, and the songs cannot be turned on low. The album feels like a late, warm summer’s afternoon drive with the top down that ends up lasting long after the sun goes down. Burning the Day is their third release on UMG Nashville, and Randy Rogers Band is out to leave a lasting mark with collection of 11 rock-country fire-branded songs.
The Texas-born-and-bred crew, who earned their road-warrior reputation in bars and dives across the American West, still spends more than 200 days on the road a year, breaking attendance records at venues on each tour. But they aren’t just hitting red dirt dens anymore, they’re opening for the likes of Willie Nelson and The Eagles, and landing spots on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno and Late Show With David Letterman. Their two previous albums debuted at No. 1 on the iTunes Country Chart and in the Top 5 on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart. They earned two ACM Vocal Group of the Year nominations and were named Country Album of The Year in Playboy magazine for their last studio effort. All of these signs point to success, but on the road map of the band’s career, their route has yet to take them to a major win on country radio—that changes with Burning the Day.
Randy Rogers Band lays it all out on the line with this album. “This is an important album,” Randy Rogers reiterates. “I wrote more songs for this album than on any previous record. The rest of the band was writing a song a week as well; we really made an effort to bring as much to the table as we could before going into the studio.” On top of songwriting, they continued their relentless touring schedule, while several of the band members, including Randy himself, started families.
Teaming up with Grammy-award winning producer Paul Worley, RRB carried their work ethic and friendships into the studio to be tested. “Paul really put me under the gun,” Rogers says, “He pushed me to focus more than ever on my songwriting.” Worley also embraced their style, “Paul was pretty excited that we were actually a band. He was fired up about our approach; with everyone in the band writing and filling out their-own parts.” Rogers exclaims.
In the studio, Worley often threw out the adage, “if you think too much, you stink,” to the guys and encouraged the band to bring the electricity of their stage performance to the studio.
RRB never shies away from a challenge. We went to a practice studio to work up the songs with Paul for 6 to 7 hours a day at SoundCheck in Nashville. After a few weeks, we took ‘em back to the road and started to play them live—the roots of this band are in the road,” Rogers explains.
Burning the Day is an album built not only with sweat of the band, but also alongside their fans. Anyone familiar with the group knows of their dedication to the people they tirelessly tour in front of. It’s natural, almost reflexive, that RRB would want to see what works for their community of diehards before hitting the studio again.

“Interstate” (R. Rogers & S. McConnell) kicks off the album like the magic hiss of a lighted fuse before a burst of summer fireworks.

“Interstate” stands out as a driving song that scorches the blacktop with Brady Black’s signature fiddle and a Rogers led anthemic chorus and harmonies. The crowd’s response was immediate. “Crowds are already singing along to it,” the band reports. “The day after Sean and Randy wrote it, we knew we had something special,” says guitarist Geoffrey Hill.

“Too Late for Goodbye” (R. Rogers & S. McConnell) makes a strong run at “break-up song of the year.” It’s a tune that will howl through many car stereos on their way out of the driveway, kicking up clouds of dust and gravel. The song’s raw and direct storytelling are pushed upward by the energy of one of the band’s best studio performances to date. “Too Late for Goodbye” signals a theme for the rest of the album in terms of songwriting making it the perfect choice as the lead single for the record.

Rogers and the band set out to write an album filled with real country songs from start-to-finish. Their aim is true, to write about relationships, about loves lost and regained, about joy and sorrow and the poetry of life that unfolds in front of us everyday. They’re songs that cause synapses to fire, especially at their shows.

“Steal You Away” (J. Middleton, M. Mulch & M. Mulch) elicits yet another unique reaction from the crowd. Bass player Jon “Chops” Richardson illuminates, “We heard this song, and we were blown away. It was something we didn’t have written for the record; we had rockers, two-steppers, but this is a great ballad: a guy sees a girl with guy who doesn’t deserve and think, ‘I should just take her away.” The band attests they’ve seen it happen—during the song, from the stage—a number of times already. Any song that’s gets under folks skin like that is a keeper.

“Just Don’t Tell Me the Truth,” is quite possibly one of Rogers’ proudest moments on Burning the Day because he got to write it with one of his heroes, a master songwriter if there ever was one, Dean Dillon. Sung from the perspective of a man who can’t let go, but knows it’s over, sends chills and tugs all the right heartstrings; it’s like it fell off an old jukebox.

Yet Burning the Day’s strength rests not solely in the individual songs, but again, on the entire album. It’s an album that can be started any point, and you’ll keep on listening till the very end, then hit repeat.

An authentic country band like RRB doesn’t rely on radio singles or a good run of download and ringtone sales, they create traditional country albums overflowing with narratives and emotions, and songs that stand up on their own; It makes for an album stacked with songs that could each be released as singles, rather than easily forgotten fluff. It’s a traditional way to look at writing albums; it’s a way that often times can be more time-consuming because the process requires weaving strands of heartache and elation through each song, rather than bookending an album with a couple singles.

Burning the Day is an album meant for old and new fans alike. It offers a taste of their live show: moments where a chorus sweeps you away, singing along word for word, and verses with consummate attention to personal imagery and songcraft.

It’s all on the line here. Randy Rogers Band put everything they’ve got into Burning the Day. It represents the years of hard work, hard livin’ the band members have put themselves through to make genuine, unflinching rock-country music. Everything is under the hood in this machine and waiting for the listener to turn that key—RRB guarantees a wild ride.RANDY ROGERS BAND

When the Randy Rogers Band’s last project debuted as the most-downloaded country album on iTunes, plenty of the industry “insiders” on Music Row were left scratching their heads: Who are these guys?

The Nashville elite may not have known about the five-piece band, but much of America already did. Rolling Stone magazine ranked them alongside such artists as U2 and the Stones in its list of Top 10 Must-See Artists in the summer of 2007. They earned $2.5 million—a staggering total for a still-developing act—on the tour circuit in a single year. Willie Nelson, the Eagles, Gary Allan and Dierks Bentley all picked them as opening acts for their concerts. And more than 2,200 people showed up and bought the bands album at an appearance at Wherehouse Music.

The fans’ exuberance was shared by USA Today, which praised the band for having “loads of grit, swagger and heart.”

The Randy Rogers Band built its audience by combining forces: It’s a dynamic live act centered around songs that fit the rowdy, party vibe of the concert circuit, but their songs also say something.

That’s particularly true in the new album, The Randy Rogers Band, in which a dozen persuasive tracks give the listener plenty of reasons to want to down a celebratory brewski. But the songs also maintain a depth that makes them powerful and provocative even beyond their edgy arrangements and tough-guy sound.

Invariably, the songs are about people making choices and dealing with the consequences they bring. That’s the case in the opening “Wicked Ways,” in which a string of wild endeavors leaves an out-of-control adult in need of redemption. It’s true in “When The Circus Leaves Town,” where a performer comes to terms with the emotional crash that accompanies the conclusion of a pumped-up show. It’s even a tenet in “One Woman,” a ballad that finds a former playboy recognizing his old choices and behaviors were a shallow pursuit next to the promise and solidity that stand before him.

“These songs are definitely true, and they’re relatable to many different life situations that I’ve either gone through in the past or will go through in the future,” Rogers, the lead singer and primary songwriter, says. “I just tried to create believable characters and relatable characters. I hear from fans that we really have helped them in real-life situations when they’ve applied the songs to their everyday life. That’s what I strive for in the songs that I write.”

“We’re not old, but we are getting a little bit more mature,” bass player Jon Richardson asserts, drawing laughter from the rest of the band. “We’re trying to be more mature, anyway. And that’s something that we can write about a little more naturally now instead of ‘Here’s a song about how much fun I had’ or ‘Here’s a song about a girl.’ That’s probably just a natural progression of our own lives being reflected in our songs.”

Indeed, the Randy Rogers Band is confronting the same questions about relationships and identity that face many of the college students and young adults that form the centerpiece of the group’s audience. The balancing act between work, home and recreation is a difficult one—even tougher for an ensemble that spends more than 200 days annually on the road.

“All the guys, except for Jon, are married or soon to be married,” guitarist Geoffrey Hill observes. “Les [drummer] and I both have kids. So sometimes it feels like you’ve really gotta struggle to fit all that into your life, I guess, but it’s kinda part of the game. I always said that I play music for free, and I get paid to leave the family behind and go on the road.”

That requires a constant rededication to the group, a commitment the five members have repeatedly made since the current lineup coalesced in 2003.

The Randy Rogers Band’s status as a group has occasionally confused its audience, which sometimes assumes Rogers is simply a solo artist. It’s the same issue that acts such as Huey Lewis & The News and Edwin McCain have battled, though one that doesn’t concern RRB all that much.

“I don’t think it’s an issue at all,” fiddler Brady Black asserts. “I think when we got together, Randy had already had a band, and his name had been out a little bit, and so we just kind of went with it.”

“That,” Black smirks, “and he owned the van…”

Actually, the name came rather innocently. Rogers had developed a following, he played open-mic nights, impressing club owner Kent Finlay enough to offer Rogers his own regular night, as long as he found a band to back him.

That group might have taken his name, but Rogers—who’d had previous experiences as a guitar player in another band—had no interest in being just a one-man show.

“I always wanted everybody to be equal, not only financially but also input-wise and creatively,” he says. “When we started the band, I pledged to them that I would work every day as hard as I could and try to get us down the highway a little further if they would sign up with me and share in some of those sacrifices, and I think from that day on, everybody pretty much quit their alternative jobs, and kinda gave 110 percent to the band.”

The Randy Rogers Band took the same slot that George Strait and the Ace In The Hole band had once occupied at Cheatham Street, appropriate since the band used the same sort of inner motivation in building its sound as Strait did a generation ago.

Their music is hardly the same. In contrast to Strait’s pure-country aesthetics, RRB combines that traditional country sound with a rollicking, swagger influenced by rugged sounds from such diverse sources as Waylon Jennings and Stone Temple Pilots. But, as Finlay recognized, there’s an authenticity and honesty to the band that parallels Strait’s personal manifesto.

“In a way, George was a little bit out of the box for Nashville when he debuted,” Rogers notes, “I think George Strait, when he first hit town, he knew who he was, and I think that’s partly why he has been so successful throughout his career. If there’s a correlation between the two of us, I think that we definitely have a sound and we know who we are.”

The Randy Rogers Band further distinguishes that identity in its self-titled album, the band’s second release since signing with Mercury Nashville. Produced by longtime admirer Radney Foster, who’s successfully maintained alt country integrity while writing mainstream hits for the likes of Sara Evans and Keith Urban, sessions for The Randy Rogers Band took place at Dockside Studios, a bayou location in Maurice, Louisiana, that’s also been the breeding ground for projects by B.B. King, Mavis Staples, Keb’ Mo’, Levon Helm and Mark Knopfler.

“We shut ourselves up for 10 days and had a band-camp set up,” Richardson observes. “There weren’t any distractions. It wasn’t like we were all goin’ home every night and comin’ back the next day. We were just living and breathing it for 10 days or so. We were just completely absorbed by it.”

The consequences of that choice are just as absorbing for the listener. The album ranges from the hypnotic country of “Buy Myself A Chance” and the first single, “In My Arms Instead,” to the propulsive buzz of “Never Be That High” to the painful conclusion, “This Is Goodbye.”

Rogers’ various performances reflect the wide-ranging influences that snapped together in the process, evoking at times the sneer of Steve Earle, the soul of Bakersfield’s Monty Byrom (formerly of Big House) and the vulnerability of Keith Urban.

With its infectious hooks and daring attitude, the album underscores the iTunes popularity of the Randy Rogers Band, its critical appeal and its significance on the nation’s concert circuit, where they’ve broken attendance records at numerous clubs across the heartland. Even Kenny Chesney, who consistently places among the top-selling tours, saw the group’s blue-collar connection when he covered Rogers’ “Somebody Take Me Home” for the album The Road And The Radio.

Each of the five members recognizes his contribution to the Randy Rogers Band’s overall unity, and they repeatedly make choices—creatively and personally—that keep that all-for-one-and-one-for-all solidarity intact.

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Bristol, Tennessee, is a town best known today for its motor speedway. But, historically, its real claim to fame is as the birthplace of modern Country music. For it was there that Ralph Peer first recorded The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers – creating what is today known as “the big-bang” of Country music. Charlie Allen was born there into a family steeped in Country music. Allen’s mother, Louise Bouton was a regular on WCYB radio’s “Fun and Farm Time,” and she is a member of the Bristol Hall of Fame. His father, Charles D. Bouton, was an artist manager.

Singing and performing was the family business, and Allen and his brothers, William and Robert, learned from the best. Just as some mothers give their child a toy to play with, Allen’s mom gave him a broom, and taught him to pretend that it was a microphone. Eventually, he would learn to play the guitar, piano, steel guitar and drums. When most of his friends were getting on a school bus, Allen was getting on a tour bus.

Allen’s uncle, Jim Harless, was also in the music business in Ft. Worth, Texas. It was there, at age seven, that Allen began to hone his skills as a singer and performer with his family at the legendary Panther Hall. The stage was his classroom, and his teachers were the pillars of Country music; Loretta Lynn, Hank Williams, Jr., Waylon Jennings, and Jerry Lee Lewis, are just a few of the touring performers that Allen fronted for, and worked with. It was during this time that Allen signed his first recording contract with Decca Records.

By age fifteen, Allen was fronting his own group, The Bouton Brothers. They appeared on various television shows in the Bristol and Kingsport area, opening for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Charley Pride and others. He also hosted his own television show, sponsored by Martha White.

Later on, Allen was signed to Parc Records, an independent label and publishing company with offices in Orlando, Florida, and Nashville. Parc, and their affiliate, Parc Studios, boasted a stellar list of clients such as The Backstreet Boys, ‘N Snyc, Britney Spears, and Mariah Carey, among others. Commuting between Nashville and Orlando, Allen wrote and recorded many songs, including “Better Said Than Done,” co-written with Earl Thomas Conley. That song garnered Allen his first critical acclaim from Music Row’s toughest critic, Robert K. Oermann, who has been an ardent supporter of Allen ever since. He also made fans of the nationally syndicated radio show hosts, John Boy and Billy, who had this to say: “We believe that Charlie is destined for stardom. He has a heart as big as Tennessee and a voice to match it.”

Presently, Allen is signed to indy label, River Run Records, and has recently completed the album, That Was Then, This Is Now. His current single, “See If I Care” is currently climbing the charts.

In a recent interview, Allen summed his career up: “When you write a song – especially when you have a ‘hook’ that speaks to people’s hearts, well, that’s the thing that keeps you going.”
It is this real, and genuine down-to-earth attitude, coupled with a phenomenal talent that will keep Charlie Allen’s voice on the radio for a long time to come

So far, 2009 has been a banner year for Charlie Allen. The Manchester, Tennessee, native has seen his music gain acceptance around the world, and his media visibility has never been higher. In January, he made a promotional appearance at MIDEM in Cannes, France, and performed an invitation-only showcase event at the Gibson Guitar Studio in London, England. And, he just celebrated his second #1 single in Europe. Recently, he was a featured guest on a special Memorial Day edition of the FOX News show, Geraldo at Large and currently is preparing for his second appearance at the mega festival, Bonnaroo, in June.

Allen’s new single, “Proof” is from his CD, That Was Then, This Is Now, about which Music Row scribe Robert K. Oermann recently stated, “I have made no secret of my respect for this artist. He’s proudly country, and this groove-saturated drinking song is one more feather in his cap.”

Allen hails from the east Tennessee town of Bristol, which is credited with being the birthplace of modern country music. (It was there that Ralph Peer first recorded The Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers and others, creating what is now referred to as “The Big Bang” of country). Allen has been performing since childhood, when at age 7, he was singing onstage at Panther Hall in Ft. Worth, TX., and appearing in concert with iconic artists such as Hank Williams, Jr., Waylon Jennings, Loretta Lynn and Jerry Lee Lewis, among others.

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Contest Message from Blake Shelton

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Hear a Pick Up Line from Blake

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“All About Tonight”

There is probably no one better equipped to launch the hillbilly worldview into the age of cyberspace than Blake Shelton. An outspoken champion of the land, the honky-tonk and the off-road vehicle, he has found a way to bring those passions into the realm of downloads and instant messaging.

It started as he hit Twitter, a move as invigorating to Blake and his fans as it was unexpected.

“A year ago,” he says, “Twitter sounded like something that couldn’t be any more opposite of me, but I love being able to say something and get an instant reaction from people, because at heart that’s why I got into this business. Twitter is in a small way like being on stage all day long. It’s tons of fun for me.”

It comes to full expression in Hillbilly Bone, a six-song album that is pure hillbilly energy. In a world where people are looking increasingly for real-time interaction with their musical idols, it is a project that lets Blake plug his traditionalist leanings into the 21st century.

“I talk to my fans every day,” he says, “and the first question they ask me is, ‘When are you going to release a new record?’ I want to give my fans new music more often at a lower price. This SIX PAK is a way to take our relationship to the next level.”

The project’s first single is the wildly successful “Hillbilly Bone,” a shot of pure adrenaline featuring Blake’s long-time friend Trace Adkins.

“I wouldn’t have wanted to try this project with any other leadoff single than ‘Hillbilly Bone’,” he says, “and that song would not have been the force that it is without Trace on it. He brings it. If I deliver the song pretty well, Trace is the reason it’s over the top.”

A rollicking joyride full of backwoods attitude celebrating the universal attraction of the honky-tonk life, it has proven to be the perfect representation of the country-boy-meets-cyberspace model.

“‘Hillbilly Bone’ is by a mile the biggest digital single and the fastest rising single I’ve had in my career,” says Blake. “I’ve never been able to compete with artists like Taylor or Miranda, and this single is competing with those artists now.”

It is the perfect leadoff to a project that is as much a representation of Blake’s personality—both on and off stage—as it’s possible for a CD to be. Drawing on top-shelf songwriters like Craig Wiseman and Rhett Akins, Blake has put together a CD that ranges from the rowdy “Kiss My Country Ass,” an unabashed anthem to redneck pride, the hilarious “Can’t Afford To Love You,” and the smart-ass “Almost Alright,” to the tender “You’ll Always Be Beautiful” and the wistful, self-penned “Delilah.”

“It’s an energy-packed little album,” he says with a laugh. “It’s also about being this guy people are finding out about, which is who I’ve always been,” he says. “It’s really going to help define a different mood for me.”

The SIX PAK is a model Blake wants to continue to pursue.

“This way,” he says, “I’m constantly able to get new music out to country music fans and I can constantly be reinventing what I do. What’s exciting for me is you never have to stop to refuel. I’ll always be looking for and releasing good music.”

His ability to do just that is the latest manifestation of musical promise that has shown itself since Blake was a boy in Ada, Oklahoma.

“I walked on stage one time when I was a kid and sang,” he says. “I saw an instant reaction from people and I never got over that feeling.” His family recognized both his talent and his love for the music, and his mother sent a tape to a local live country music show in his hometown of Ada, Oklahoma, when he was 12. By 16, he was singing at weddings and parties, and before long he had beaten 3,500 contestants in a statewide talent contest.

He was performing at an awards ceremony when he met legendary songwriter Mae Axton (”Heartbreak Hotel”), who encouraged him to move to Nashville. He was just 17 and two weeks out of high school when he took her advice.

After three years of odd jobs and struggling, he was discouraged enough to consider leaving town when he met another legendary writer—Bobby Braddock (”He Stopped Loving Her Today”). Before long, Blake was signed to Giant Records, although success was still elusive. It took four years until his first single came out, and a week later, the label folded.

He was quickly picked up by Warner Bros., though, and the single “Austin” became a five-week #1 single. Each of his first three albums went gold, and each produced a chart-topping single—”The Baby” from The Dreamer and “Some Beach” from Blake Shelton’s Barn & Grill.

As he became more comfortable in the spotlight, Blake began allowing more of his relaxed and irreverent personality into his stage show. The result is a live show renowned as one of music’s most enjoyable. At the same time, he became increasingly recognized as one of the genre’s finest singers.

His fourth album, Pure BS, also went gold and produced a back-to-back #1 single, “Home,” at a time when Blake’s presence on television was increasing.

“More and more,” he says, “people identify me with my personality as much as they do with my music. At a show, I guarantee I’ll meet 20 guys and girls who say, ‘I love what you said to Kathie Lee Gifford’ or ‘I saw you on that hunting show.’ I think I’ve got the best of both worlds.”

Starting Fires produced “She Wouldn’t Be Gone,” yet another multiple week #1 single, and solidified Blake’s reputation as a vocalist.

“The last album or two I pushed myself as a singer,” he says, “and I think I proved what I’m capable of. I’ll always push myself, but with Hillbilly Bone it was more about finding songs with that attitude I want to convey and then just delivering them the best way I can. More than anything I’d like people to hear me sing and think, ‘That’s good music.’”

Blake’s personal life has been one of his greatest sources of strength. A few years back, he sold his Nashville farm and relocated to a farm outside his hometown.

“I wouldn’t change a thing right now,” he says simply. He is satisfied with a life that he recognizes as a work in progress.

“Musically I’m still finding things out about me, and I’m still learning about who I am as a person. Every time I think I’m settling in, I find something new. I think I’ll probably always be that way.”

Along the way, the music he makes continues to be some of country’s finest. With Hillbilly Bone, it is also, in this computerized age, some of its most rooted, its most honest, and without a doubt its most fun.

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It doesn’t take long to realize that Moxy Records recording artist, Chelsea Field, has what it takes to make it as a star in the music business: the voice, the songs, the looks… In fact, all one really has to do is watch this striking entertainer perform in front of a crowd for a song or two and it becomes more than obvious that she has the talent to succeed. But Chelsea also possesses something a little less evident; something that goes far beyond common surface-level comparisons. It’s a rare combination of qualities shared by those same artists that have topped the charts and filled the airwaves for decades.

“Strong-willed”… “Fearless”… “Opinionated and ambitious”… “Passionate and personable”… These are just a few of the traits that have been used to describe Chelsea Field, both on stage and off. Regardless of how one chooses to phrase it, the truth is that Chelsea knows exactly what she wants as an artist and as a person, and she has little fear about achieving any of her goals. After all, when your first job is selling construction door-to-door as a teenager, you learn a quick thing or two about persistence and the value of hard work.

“I’ve been singing since I was four years old,” says Chelsea. “It’s something that’s in my blood and kind of always came naturally to me. I think it was the first time that I saw Shania Twain in concert that I really knew that performing, as opposed to just singing, is what I was really meant to do.”

At 19, the Marion, Ohio, native moved to Nashville, where she first began to put the pieces in place for the release of her debut album, produced by award-winning songwriter and producer Trey Bruce (Trace Adkins, Chris Ledoux, Sir Cliff Richard). Already an accomplished songwriter in her own right, Chelsea continued to craft new material while fielding submissions from some of Nashville’s finest writers in her search for just the right collection of songs. Finding the ones that balanced her Country influences with her Pop interests was a painstaking and time-consuming process, but one she wasn’t willing to compromise on, she says.

“For better or worse, the songs you choose to put on your album determine how people perceive you and your style as an artist,” she explains. “It was important for me to find the songs that fit me, because while one song might be great for another singer, it won’t come across to the fans as mine if it sounds like somebody else.”

As a performer, opening for stars like Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert, Billy Currington, Phil Vassar, Dierks Bentley, Big & Rich and many others has given Chelsea a valuable opportunity to learn from some of the most successful entertainers in Country music. It also helped her grow as an artist, developing quite a dynamic stage presence along the way.

“I think that opening for those artists has motivated me even more as a performer, because I’ve been on those big stages, and I’ve felt the energy from those crowds,” she says. “It just makes me want to work that much harder to get out there again on my own, because that’s where I belong.”

In many ways, Chelsea Field is already a seasoned artist and performer. Her understated intensity, coupled with an undeniable will to succeed, has prepared this talented young singer for a long and prosperous career.

“I’ve got all the confidence in the world right now,” she says of her new material and live show. “Really, I’ve been a performer all my life, and being out in front of all those fans are some of my favorite moments of this whole process… I’ve been waiting all my life for this.”

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